Cruising to Alaska with Princess Cruises is one of our top vacation picks for adventure lovers – with programs packed with things to do, gorgeous locations, and tons of relaxation! Why to Book an Alaska Cruise? Book With Princess Cruises, and you’ll have the vacation of a lifetime!

This post is sponsored by Princess Cruises. All opinions are 100% my own.

I was recently invited to cruise with Princess Cruises, to celebrate the return to Alaska for the 2021 season.

We cruised at the end of August, closing out the restart of the cruise season to Alaska after the shutdown – and I’m here to say that cruising is back, and better than ever.

With upgraded safety protocols, enhanced sanitation, and full CDC compliance, Princess has ensured guests are safe and cruising can return.

Not only were we thrilled to be back with Princess Cruises – but I was thrilled to mark a huge bucket list item off my travel list this trip – as it marked 50 states for me!

I’ve been to all 50 United States of America now, as I was saving Alaska for last. There was absolutely no better way to take in Alaska for the first time than stepping off the Majestic Princess – Princess made everything easy, relaxing, and adventurous – even in still a bit chaotic times for travel. They made us feel at ease and welcome like we hadn’t felt in a long, long time – and brought back the joy of a true vacation.

Princess Cruises has long been my favorite cruise line to partner with for many reasons – but nothing more than all of the amazing food!

Princess has an amazing culinary program, with robust buffet, grab and go, quick-serve, main dining room, and specialty dining options across each ship.

On the Majestic Princess, there are three main dining rooms, the International Cafe, Alfredo’s Pizza, The Lobster and Burger Grill, a Noodle bar, Swirls ice cream, Bistro Sur La Mer, The Crown Grill, as well as the only on Majestic Princess Harmony upscale from-scratch fresh Chinese food restaurant.

Majestic Princess also offers one of our favorite bars at sea – Good Spirits – where bartenders get guests in on the fun, with performances and live demonstrations, so you can make the delicious cocktails you’re enjoying long after your vacation ends.

Be sure to get a seat at the bar for one of the Good Spirits shows – they are so much fun, and the drinks are so delicious! We love the Sandia en Fuego (a spicy watermelon margarita with lava salt rim), and the Butterfly – a gin drink with lemon and simple syrup, that magically changes colors during the demonstration!

If you’re looking for ideas on making the most of all of Princess’ great bars at sea, check out the The Ultimate Sky Princess Bar Crawl I threw with some friends on the Sky Princess – it was one of our favorite memories from our trip!

To see more of the food – including our picks for what to eat on the Majestic Princess, click here.

There is no shortage of activities on Princess ships – and the Majestic Princess was no different.

The Majestic Princess has indoor and outdoor pools and hot tubs, a full sport court and putting green, a piazza with frequent performances and activities, tons of shops offering gifts, clothing, and luxury goods – all duty free. I wanted to buy just about everything in their Helly Hansen Princess branded line – it was all so cute!

Princess ships have great casinos – and the Majestic Princess also hosts a high dollar casino, as well. There

The Majestic Princess hosts karaoke rooms (which are open dependent on COVID restrictions given the small space), an indoor pool that turns dance club at night, outdoor pools and hot tubs, movies under the stars (blockbuster hits, first run movies, and classics played on a large screen over the pool on the top of the ship, where you can snuggle up with a blanket and come cocoa or popcorn and enjoy a night at the movies- under the stars!)

Princess offers activities like astronomy – star-gazing at sea is always a breathtaking experience, with so many stars, especially in Alaska. Some cruises even see the northern lights!

One of the best ways to see Alaska is from the sea – there is nothing like the contrast of the tall, dark peaks and the bright, glacier-kissed ocean, sprawling out in front of you – a view you can take in right from your stateroom balcony.

When it’s time to port, you’re in for a treat – because Alaskan cruises stop in some of the most breathtaking places on earth.

Our cruise visited Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan – a perfect trip for people looking for whale watching, glacier trekking, helicopter tours, salmon or halibut fishing,

The top reason to book a cruise to Alaska, in my opinion, is to book one that stops in Glacier Bay National Park.

Heading to Glacier Bay NP was always a bucket list item for me – and this cruise marked my 50th state that I have been to in the USA – what a way to celebrate having visited every state!

Glacier Bay National Park is like nowhere I have ever been. I’ve never felt so small – even on a large ship – compared to the glaciers we visited, and the huge peaks that stand imposingly over you in every direction.

Cruising through Glacier Bay is truly a ship-wide event – with lectures from ecologists and naturists you can listen to on anything from glaciers to Alaskan wildlife, a guided tour of the bay played over the ship’s intercom (and your stateroom TV, if you’d like to stay in the comfort of your room or on your own balcony), and cocoa and blankets around the ship if you need to warm up while watching from the top of the ship for a great view of it all!

We were in Glacier Bay on a fairly foggy and dreary day, which only added to the mystique. The view was always changing, with ice swirling in the bright blue water as we sailed past, the black rocks darting in and out of misty clouds – it was hauntingly beautiful.

I was worried the clouds would obscure our view of the glaciers – but I didn’t need to be – as we edged closer to the glacier, the clouds lifted, just as our guides let us know they would.

One of my favorite parts of any Princess Cruise ship is the Lotus Spa – the ultimate place for relaxation at sea.

Princess has a fabulous spa and salon to help you rest and relax – and no location calls for a great massage and melt in the steam room like all the adventure you take in while visiting Alaska.

Hot tip: before your cruise, you can book a couples pass to the Enclave, the thermal suite in Lotus Spa on some Princess ships.

The Enclave is one of my favorite parts of every cruise – it is the ultimate in relaxation, with a hammam (intense steam room with heated tile bed), steam room, sauna, and warm jacuzzi pool – as well as a set of aromatherapy showers that double as cold sprays to help refresh you if you need to cool down a bit.

Princess Cruises always have lots to take in if you’re looking for great entertainment – there is always something special going on, all over the ship!

Princess Theater offers a few types of shows – musical revues with classic hits, and Broadway-caliber productions like the Secret Silk and Rock Opera. The theater has amazingly talented singers and dancers – we always love taking in at least one show on a cruise, it’s always a great time – packed with songs everyone loves.

Across the ship, there are always small performances to find, from vocalists and string quartets to jazz bands and dance lessons – as well as comedians, magicians, and live DJ shows. The Majestic Princess also offers a light show at night on the pool deck set to music, so you can watch water dance on the ship too!

There are also tons of options for in-room entertainment, thanks to Princess’ partnership with the Discovery Channel. Your stateroom tv is loaded with blockbuster movies, first-run films, classic hits, tons of tv shows, live American tv stations (most major news networks including Fox, CNN, and MSNBC, ESPN) as well as the best wifi at sea – so you can stream your own shows if you want, as well. We were even able to stream Ted Lasso one night, with zero buffering, somewhere between Canada and the US, far from the coast.

I can’t imagine ever going back to cruising without medallion class – the state of the art, industry leading technology from Princess Cruises that transforms your trip into a true vacation!

MedallionClass starts off the ship, when you’re sent an Ocean Medallion just before your cruise, which will act as your cruise card and identification/wallet on ship.

Before boarding, you’ll enter all of your check-in information (for COVID protocols, and to see how I entered in our health information, please click here to see my post What It’s Really Like To Cruise After The Pandemic), and then you will arrive at the cruise terminal at your designated time, head to the lane your check-in status provides you (this will be found in-app or via the site, however you do your pre check-in), tap your medallion to scan in, and go!

You can download the MedallionClass app on your phone to use with your medallion to order room service all across the ship (Princess crew can find you, based on your Ocean Medallion, so you can order drinks and snacks by the pool, coffee to your room in the morning, a burger in the back bar – even gifts and items like Dramamine, medicine, etc.

You can also order mechanical or technical services from your phone – we had a temperature request (our room was really warm, I like a cold room) – and the engineer came to fix the thermostat for us – all without ever having to call down to the front desk, or stand in line. I just opened a chat message in the MedallionClass app, and they had someone to our room in no time!

You can chat with crew for all sorts of requests or needs you might have – without having to stand in line, call, or wait on hold.

You can even order fresh towels, new pillows, and extra clothes hangers – right from the app! It just makes everything easier, and lets you relax without having to worry about anything.

Book Your Own Princess Cruise to Alaska

Princess Cruises truly offers something for every foodie – it is our top pick for a stress free, relaxing vacation where you can eat just about anything and be happy.

If you’re planning your own cruise, please check out some of the amazing deals Princess Cruises is currently offering:

Princess is back — on the California Coast! Guests and crew together again starting October 6 aboard Majestic Princess! We will operate these cruises consistent with CDC guidelines for a vaccinated cruise. Book now!

Check Out Princess Cruises – Alaska 7-Day Voyage of the Glaciers (Northbound) – Interior from $899* per person. BOOK TODAY, TO SAIL LATER!

For more from Sweet C’s partnerships with Princess Cruises, visit our cruise index here – or see some of our recent favorite posts below: